Constantine senior fullback Ben Mallo runs along the sideline after he made a reception during the second half of Friday's Division 6 state championship game at Ford Field. (Matt Gade | MLive.com)

Ben Mallo

DETROIT – Ben Mallo is not the type of guy to talk about himself. That's just not in the Constantine senior's DNA.

That's OK: I'll do it for him.

The starting fullback and inside linebacker is blue-collar all the way, and perhaps best represents what the Falcons' program is about -- hard-nosed, team-first football, where egos are left at the door.

Make no mistake, though: For a program whose whole is generally greater than the sum of its parts, Mallo was an awfully big piece with his production, leadership and attitude.

It was his second monster championship-game effort in as many seasons. Mallo led Constantine in rushing (189 yards, two TDs) and tackling (nine) in the big game last year, too, as the Falcons fell to Ithaca, 42-14.

Mallo finished this season as the Falcons' leading rusher (1,875 yards and 18 TDs) and their top tackler (114). He was one of only 13 players to earn a spot on Kalamazoo's MLive.com Dream Team offense.

Take a bow, young man.

"Honestly, I don't pride myself on what I do personally. I don't think of myself," Mallo said in a somber tone following Friday's game. "If you want to give someone credit for all the runs I had (Friday), you've got to credit my line. Without them I wouldn't be anything. I don't even know what else to say. I did my part in the game, I tried to do my best, I tried to play for my team. I don't play for myself."

Spoken like a true captain.

This marked the fourth straight season that Constantine advanced to the state semifinals or beyond, and each of those years the Falcons featured a Mallo at fullback. Zach Mallo starred at the position during the 2009 and 2010 seasons before he graduated and made way for his little, albeit slightly bigger, brother.

Just like Ben, Zach was tough as nails. He was a wrestling star at Constantine, like his all-state grappling brother is now.

"Ben's not a natural linebacker – he's really a little guy," Constantine football coach Shawn Griffith said earlier in the week. "He's one of those wrestlers. He uses that really when he runs the football, too. He's got a knack – both him and his brother (had) that knack at our fullback spot."

Ben Mallo exhibited those skills twice against an Ithaca powerhouse that's now won 42 straight games and collected three consecutive Division 6 state championships.

In last year's state finals, Mallo erupted for 150 yards and two TDs in the first quarter alone on only six carries. He had 171 yards in the first half of that game. On Friday, he went for 147 more in the first half.

Mallo's 37-yard TD run with 5:49 remaining in the contest pulled Constantine within 37-27, but the Falcons could get no closer.

As he stated, Mallo is not about the individual performance. But just look at his final tally from the two state-finals games: 396 rushing yards on 33 carries (12 yards per attempt) with three TDs; 21 tackles, four for losses totaling nine yards.

Against anyone at this stage, that's impressive. Against an opponent that allowed only 8.3 points per game the past two seasons and scored 45.8 points a contest during that span, it's amazing.

"I'm still in awe that I'm not going to be playing any more football games," Mallo said.

That's OK . He's done more to leave a legacy than one person could possibly be expected to do – more than he'll ever know or care to acknowledge.

"Friendship and memories is what I'm going to be taking away from everything that we've done. I mean, we've had two great runs – four great runs if you count our freshman and sophomore years when we made it to the semifinals," said Mallo, who was called up to the varsity squad for the playoffs in 2009 and 2010, when the Falcons suffered back-to-back, tough semifinals losses to Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central.

"I think definitely the friendships I've made on this team, and the memories, they're going to last a lifetime. The scores, the stats, you know, those can stick around, but when it all comes down to it, in the end, it's just what memories you have with the people you're with."

Mallo was instrumental in making those memories. I'm not afraid to say it.